Treacherous waters

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Members of the French army negotiate with Somali pirates that captured a French sailing vessel, the Tanit, in April this year in the Gulf of Aden.

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Captain Richard Phillips is hugged by family members after returning home. Last month, Phillips was taken hostage after four gunmen seized the 17,000 tonne Maersk Alabama cargo ship off the coast of Somalia.

Formerly the stuff of legends, pirates are back. The small bands of thieves menacing ships off Somalia have captured headlines the world over, with even US president Barack Obama vowing to tackle the gun-toting marauders head on. But with the number of attacks rising rapidly, can politicians, naval forces and ship masters help make the seas safe again?

The threat of mass execution still haunts Peter French following his harrowing 57-day ordeal with Somali pirates. On Nov 15, 2008 the British engineer and 24 crew members of a Saudi oil tanker were hijacked by eight gunmen in the Gulf of Aden.

In exchange for the crew, the pirates reportedly demanded millions of dollars from ship owner Saudi Aramco.

Fears that Special Forces were planning to storm the ship during negotiations almost led to a bloodbath. Armed with AK47s, the gunmen rounded up the crew after spotting flashlights in the distance and threatened to kill them if a rescue attempt was made.

"They were running around shouting and screaming and waving AK47 rifles around," French told reporters. Tensions were only eased after the pirates realised that the beam came from a nearby lighthouse.

Almost two months after their capture, all crew members were released unharmed after Saudi Aramco reportedly paid an undisclosed ransom fee.

With pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden soaring in recent months, French's tale is becoming all too familiar.

Figures released by the International Maritime Bureau show attacks have almost doubled to 102 for this year's opening quarter compared with 53 during the same period in 2008. Some 34 vessels were boarded, 29 fired upon and nine hijacked. Meanwhile, 178 crew members were taken hostage, with nine injured, five kidnapped and two killed.

The report also said the east coast of Somalia and Gulf of Aden accounted for most attacks, with 61 of all reported incidents taking place in these areas.

In contrast, only six such incidents were called in to naval officers and coast guards between January and March last year.

The sudden spike in attacks has caught the global media's attention, with incidents covered on an almost daily basis. Analysts have warned that the problem will see maritime industry costs rocket by millions of dollars, while swelling the marauders' coffers. Reports suggest warlord communities in Somalia already house former fishermen that have amassed an estimated $120m collectively through piracy.

"This is the perfect storm for piracy in Somalia, for onland and offshore reasons," says Jeroen Meijer, a consultant at threat and safety advisors Control Risks. "On land, the country is a field state; law enforcement is non-existent, especially when talking about the region where most of the pirates operate, so they can move with total impunity.

"It's accelerated by the Somali economy completely collapsing. Offshore, the area in which pirates operate is a perfect environment and the weather is usually benign. The sea is very calm, so pirates can operate on small, cheap boats with grapple hooks."

As a former officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy, Meijer knows better than most the dangers of patrolling the open seas.

Pirates often operate in small skiffs that are far nimbler than large vessels during hot pursuits. They also have hi-tech equipment to track ships in the vast oceans, using grappling hooks and rope ladders to climb aboard.

Other tools that pirates rely on when attacking cargo ships and oil tankers include standard rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades.

Crew members have their own weapons of choice should marauders attempt to board, such as fire extinguishers, water hoses and barbed wire covering entry points. Some also use sonic canons, a loudhailer device that can permanently damage hearing from 300 metres (984ft).

Having such gear to hand is surely useful during attacks, but commander Steve Fry, from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation (UKMTO), insists that an alert ship master is equally important.

"It's a very scary experience and I take my hat off to the masters that react in the proper way," he says. "If the ship master uses the positive pressure of the vessel and keeps the maximum speed up, he stands a very good chance of escaping the pirates and they will move on to the next ship.

"The guy who hasn't got look outs and isn't switched on to what's happening will stop in the water and let these guys come on board," Fry continues. "[If you] make it easy for them, they will take the ship."

In his role as vice president and national leader of Control Risks' US crisis management team, Meijer is responsible for training ship owners and crews to fend off attacks.

One of the biggest challenges for ship companies, he says, is liaising with families of captured crew members.

"You're often dealing with a crew of 40 with 200 people in their extended families around the globe that are anxious to understand what is happening to their loved ones.

"They're asking, ‘what are you doing to get them out of there?' and then telling you they need money for rent, their children's schools and so on. We help our clients understand the reality of the piracy problem because some find it difficult to get their heads around it and realise this could happen to them today."

The wife of captain Richard Phillips can attest to the agonising wait that families endure when their loved ones are captured by pirates. Last month, Phillips was taken hostage after four gunmen seized the 17,000 tonne Maersk Alabama cargo ship off the coast of Somalia. While the ship and its crew were released, Phillips was held in a lifeboat for five days as the Somalia-bound pirates demanded a ransom.

Their ploy was cut short, however, when snipers from the US special forces killed three of the gunmen and seized a fourth on President Barack Obama's orders. The only surviving pirate, a 16-year-old African boy, is now in the US awaiting trial. He faces a 100-year sentence if tried as an adult.

Using force to eradicate the piracy threat may have worked in this instance, but recent incidents show America's armed response has failed to deter high-seas looters. Angered by the deaths of three ‘comrades', Somali pirates vowed to take revenge on American ships travelling through the Gulf of Aden.

Within days of the Alabama incident, four vessels with 60 hostages were seized in an act of defiance against the US. More recently, security officers on an Italian cruise vessel repelled an attack following an intense firefight with pirates.

The incident, which took place near the Seychelles, was quickly followed by another attempted heist involving a Yemeni oil tanker. The botched attempt saw two pirates killed and another five injured, while two Yemeni coast guards were also wounded as special commandos stormed the ship.

The rise in gun battles is a worrying trend for Tom Hastings, a US coastguard captain based in Manama, Bahrain. He is adamant that ship masters must resist the urge to carry firearms on board, or risk contributing to an increased number of injuries and fatalities. They should also bear in mind the legal complications, and bans on vessels entering ports with guns, Hastings says.

"As the captain of the ship, you are singularly responsible for what happens on board. If a security firm that you have hired mistakenly kills the wrong person [crewmember or fishermen] then it would be the captain who goes to court for it.

"Even though it's terrifying to be hijacked, kidnapped and held for months you know some day it will be over. You wouldn't want to go to court for killing innocent fishermen."

Like Hastings, Control Risks' Meijer believes ships carrying firearms could lead to disastrous consequences.

Since last year, pirates have travelled the seas on skiffs often used by fishermen, making it difficult for ship masters to differentiate looters from innocent mariners.

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